First, did you know, dear Reader, that there was a Yellow Hook? I sure did not have an idea that Sunset Park was once called by that name. But there, on a very, very old map, it is indicated,to the south of Red Hook.
And where today rows of brownstones stand in Carroll Gardens, there was nothing but marshland. And there, indicated by a thin blue line, there was the Gowanus Canal.
Isn't this an amazing document? I have no idea of its date. Would anyone like to venture a guess?
For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking
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12 comments:
It's actually Bay Ridge that was called Yellow Hook, I think for the yellow clay ground. The name was changed in the 1800's because of fears that people would associate the area with Yellow Fever.
There is still a bar in Bay Ridge called Yellow Hook.
Hi Batman,
How very cool. Thanks for the information.
I love these historic tidbits.
In those days it wasn't a Gowanus Canal, it was a Gowanus Creek. The canal was dug out along the area of the creek later on.
Raanan,
You are right, of course. It was only turned into a canal in the mid-18oo's
Thanks for catching the mistake.
Always like seeing old maps, thanks!
Hmmmm... what date? Well, the fort at Manhattan's battery, and the fact that there's landfill around the fort depicted would mean it had to be drawn/imagined after the 1820s... and oddly, there's NO fort drawn at ALL on the very/too small Governor's island. This island was greatly important, back then - which makes me question the map-maker, and the time drawn. (Why put the fort on Brooklyn, and leave out the fort on Governor's island?) The word Brooklyn's spelled in clear English. There were also houses & farms in what's now Brooklyn Heights - I'm wondering why there's reddish/brick coloring in lower Manhattan depicting the city, but no building indicated for Brooklyn?
Here comes the cynic, in me. Maybe this was done far later (like 1930?), but made to look as it was -- earlier in the 1820s?.. As a novice, I'd question the 1800s authenticity of this map, due to the calligraphy too.. usually, it was very precise. And the size, letters aren't at all, here and looks poor vs. many others I'd seen from the 1800s, even far earlier. (Look like a case for 'Antique Roadshow'.)
this document was drawn before the "red hook lane" so i would ventuire it was made up by a newcomer to brooklyn who wasn't well traveled or knowledgeable of the detours, now, http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9A04E4D8143EEF33A25751C0A96E9C94629ED7CF
the address of jacob wilson's wife, n.y. times, 8/2/pmfa1893, no?
It is clearly noted on the EPA website that this map was what the EPA used to determine the boundaries of the Gowanus Superfund designation.
Joe is probably on the right track, since your map looks like a stylized version of a U.S. Coast Survey map drawn in 1837. The Coast Surveys were the first major federal effort to precisely measure/document waterways and topographic features. You can actually download these in high resolution from the University of Alabama’s amazing maps website, http://alabamamaps.ua.edu/. The
1837 one seems to be the closest, except that it doesn’t show “Yellow Hook.” That may have come from another source/adaptation -- probably just a few years later (yet before the Gowanus Canal was constructed).
Without question the area you are referring to is the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, which did once also encompass parts of what are now considered Sunset Park through areas below 65th St. It is common for locals to still call Bay Ridge Yellow Hook, and there is in fact a great grille on the corner of Ovington Ave., near historic Senator St.
The History
Bay Ridge began life as Yellow Hook, a reflection of the yellow soil that used to cover the land in the 17th century. While its neighbor to the north, Red Hook, kept its colorful name, Yellow Hook became Bay Ridge when yellow fever swept the country in the mid-19th century.
After that, the neighborhood became a retreat for New York's elite, who built a string of homes along Shore Road.
My guess is this map dates from before 1812. Unless its simply a graphical representation, the fort drawn on the tip of Manhattan looks more like Fort Amsterdam. Castle Clinton, what we can see today, is circular in plan. Also, I think by the early 1800's development had moved further north towards Houston Street. Oh yeah, and someone correct me if I'm wrong, but Governors Island wasn't officially called that until the 1780's, right?
sorry, artie
you are wrong
in the first place, go to http://www.tolerancepark.org/
also, you may need to know some more history here
Check out the fantastic exhibition called Mapping New York's Shoreline 1609-2009 at the NYPL, which includes a couple of maps that include Yellow Hook.
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